State v. Young

Appealed
from the First Judicial District Court for the Parish of
Caddo, Louisiana Trial Court No. 326, 393 Honorable Ramona L.
Emanuel, Judge

LOUISIANA APPELLATE PROJECT Peggy J. Sullivan Counsel for
Appellant

JOHNNY
LEE YOUNG, JR. Pro Se.

JAMES
E. STEWART, SR. District Attorney Counsel for Appellee

TOMMY
J. JOHNSON EDWIN L. BLEWER, III Assistant District Attorneys

Before
BROWN, GARRETT, and STONE, JJ.

BROWN,
C.J.

Defendant,
Johnny Lee Young, Jr., was charged with the forcible rape
(La. R.S. 14:43) of K.C. that occurred on September 7, 2014.
At arraignment, Young pled not guilty. Several pretrial
motions were filed, including a pro se motion to suppress
certain text messages and a phone call recording between
defendant and K.C. That same day, the trial court granted
defendant's oral motion to represent himself with standby
counsel. The trial court denied defendant's motion to
suppress after a hearing on December 1, 2015.

After a
jury trial, Young was found guilty of the responsive verdict
of attempted simple rape (La. R.S. 14:43, 14:27). Defendant
was adjudicated a second-felony habitual offender and
sentenced to 30 years at hard labor without the benefit of
probation, parole, or suspension of sentence. The trial court
additionally ordered defendant to pay court costs, or in lieu
of payment, serve 90 days in the parish jail, to run
concurrently with any other sentence. Defendant filed a
motion to reconsider sentence, which was denied. On appeal,
Young challenges the excessive nature of his sentence.
Defendant also filed a pro se brief challenging the
sufficiency of the evidence, certain alleged Fourth Amendment
violations, and admission at trial of certain text messages
sent by defendant to K.C. and a recorded phone conversation
between defendant and K.C. We affirm the conviction and
sentence.

FACTS/PROCEDURAL
HISTORY

At
trial, the state called six witnesses. Shreveport Police
Officer Darrion Jackson testified that at 6:00 p.m. on
September 7, 2014, he was dispatched to an apartment complex
located at 2420 Leslie Street in Shreveport, Louisiana, in
response to a report of an alleged rape. Upon arriving at the
complex, Officer Jackson made contact with the victim, who
appeared very distraught, was shaking, and kept fumbling with
the tissues in her hand. She attempted to explain to Officer
Jackson what happened but couldn't stop crying.
Eventually, K.C. disclosed to Officer Jackson that the rape
had occurred the previous night, after she attended a party
at her upstairs neighbor's apartment. She stated that she
consumed alcohol at the party, returned to her own apartment,
and went to bed. Between 12:30 a.m. and 1:00 a.m. on
September 7, 2014, she was wakened by defendant, who was
lying on top of her. K.C. was weak from the alcohol and asked
defendant how he got in the apartment. Defendant's
response was, "[d]on't worry about it." The
victim told Officer Jackson that she yelled for her oldest
son, who was in the apartment with her two other children,
but Young got off of her and locked her bedroom door. K.C.
attempted to stand and leave the room, but defendant grabbed
her arm and threw her back onto the bed and proceeded to
vaginally rape her. K.C. identified her rapist as Young, a
former boyfriend.

Officer
Jackson contacted detectives with the Shreveport Police
Department's sex crimes division and brought K.C. to
Willis-Knighton Hospital for a rape kit to be collected.
Officer Jackson further testified that he collected as
evidence K.C.'s underwear, which she was wearing prior to
the attack, as well as her robe and white top.[1] The case was then
taken over by detectives with the sex crimes division,
concluding Officer Jackson's involvement in the
matter.[2]

Michael
Jones of the sex crimes division testified that he was the
investigating detective in the instant case. He first made
contact with K.C. at the hospital while she was being
examined. Like Officer Jackson, Detective Jones observed that
the victim was crying, lying in the fetal position on the
hospital bed, and visibly shaking. K.C. related to Det. Jones
what she had previously told Officer Jackson

A
Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner ("SANE"), Melanie
Hubbard, was called to the hospital to collect and obtain the
rape kit, or Personal Evidence Recovery Kit
("PERK"), which consisted of collecting DNA samples
and documenting K.C.'s physical condition. Det. Jones
testified that Ms. Hubbard gave him the PERK kit, and he
delivered the kit to the crime lab for analysis. According to
Det. Jones, the crime lab analysis found no DNA in the
samples recovered from K.C..

Det.
Jones testified that on September 8, 2014, he took K.C.'s
children, a 14-year-old daughter and two younger sons, to be
interviewed by a trained forensic interviewer at the
Gingerbread House; he monitored the interview through a
closed-circuit television system. A videotape of the
interview was admitted into evidence.

In the
interview, K.C.'s teenage daughter stated that, on the
night in question, her mother returned from the party and
went to bed. The teen recalled later hearing a knock at the
door, which her 8-year-old brother answered, admitting
defendant into the apartment. The daughter stated that she
was in her room when defendant entered the apartment, but a
few minutes later, defendant knocked on her bedroom door and
told her that her mother wanted to borrow her fan. She
brought the fan to her mother's bedroom and left.
Defendant then shut the bedroom door behind her. About 10
minutes later, her mother came out of her room, crying. The
daughter noted that defendant had already left. The teenager
identified defendant as the "man who cuts her
brothers' hair, " and noted that he used to spend
the night. The two sons were also interviewed; however, they
were unable to provide additional information.

K.C.
informed Det. Jones that defendant had attempted to contact
her by phone, and Det. Jones testified that he advised K.C.
to text Young and inform him that she was upset and ask him
why he raped her. K.C. communicated with defendant via text
message, then provided a copy of the messages to Det.
Jones.[3] Det. Jones testified that he also advised
K.C. to speak to defendant and record the conversation. K.C.
initiated the telephone call, which lasted approximately nine
minutes.[4] During the call, defendant offered to pay
for K.C.'s counseling and stated, "[K.C.], I'm
sorry for raping you." After the call, Det. Jones
obtained an arrest warrant and arrested defendant.

Melanie
Hubbard, [5] the nurse who performed the PERK exam on
K.C., testified that she examined the victim at 8:00 p.m. on
September 7, 2014, approximately 21 hours after the alleged
rape occurred. Ms. Hubbard testified that evidence, such as
DNA samples, can be lost if the victim is not examined
immediately after a rape. Ms. Hubbard stated that K.C. had
urinated several times since the incident and was also on her
menstrual cycle, which can explain why no DNA was found on
the samples taken during the exam. Ms. Hubbard also noted
that although no bruising was found on K.C.'s body during
the examination, this was not uncommon in rape cases.

K.C.
testified that she was sexually abused as a child and
suffered from bipolar disorder. K.C. stated that after
graduating from high school, she became a paralegal, but had
difficulty holding a job because of her bipolar disorder.
During this time, K.C. was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, which
is a condition in the nervous system that causes widespread
pain. K.C. stated that she began drinking and smoking
marijuana, and attempted suicide several times. K.C.
testified that she and her three children moved to Shreveport
to live with her father, and it was in Shreveport that K.C.
was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and began receiving
treatment. Around this time, K.C. developed a casual sexual
relationship with Young, who cut her children's hair. The
relationship lasted two years and ended in May of 2014,
several months prior to the incident.

K.C.
testified that on the night of September 6, 2014, she
attended her neighbor's party and had a couple of
alcoholic beverages. During the party, K.C. became tired and
returned to her apartment. She put on a black nightgown and
took a sleeping pill. K.C. stated that her sons were watching
television in her bedroom, and her daughter was in her own
room. After she took the pill, K.C. fell asleep with her sons
still in her bedroom. K.C. testified that sometime later, she
woke up and felt something very heavy on her; it was Young.
As K.C. attempted to push Young away, she realized that her
youngest son was still in her bedroom because she heard Young
instruct the young boy to leave the room. K.C. stated that
she instinctively called out for her daughter, but then
feared that Young might hurt her daughter too if she
attempted to help her, so K.C. lied and stated that she was
hot and needed a fan. K.C. heard her daughter bring the fan
to K.C.'s bedroom. Young took the fan from her daughter,
who went back to her own room, and locked the bedroom door.
K.C. tried to get off the bed, but Young pushed her back down
and vaginally raped her. K.C. recalled Young leaving shortly
afterward, and she passed out until the next morning.

K.C.
testified that the morning after the rape, she woke up to
find her underwear on the floor. She put on clean panties and
sat at the picnic table in front of her apartment. K.C.
stated that she kept calling the police department and
hanging up until her neighbor, Sheva, came to check on her at
4:30 p.m. At that time, K.C. told Sheva that Young had raped
her. K.C. stated that she also spoke to her other neighbor,
Caroline Young, who told K.C. to call the police.

K.C.
testified that Young called her repeatedly after the
incident, and after she informed Det. Jones of the calls, he
instructed her to text and call Young. K.C. testified that
the number she called was the same number she had used to
contact Young while they ...

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